Don’t Get Caught With Your Sunglasses Down! What You Need To Know About Sunglasses and UV Protection
The calls for outdoor activities can be strong, whether it is winter with snowy slopes or summer with warm beaches. This means more time in the sun. You protect your skin with sunscreens. You protect your lips with your lip balm. You protect your head with your hat. So, what do you protect your eyes with? Sunglasses, of course! But not all sunglasses are created equal. So, how can you tell that sunglasses can really protect your eyes from UV rays? This article will hopefully answer that. We will talk about what you need to know about Sunglasses and UV Protection and how to pick them.
TLDR: Sunglasses are very important. They protect our eyes from the sun and help reduce glare and enhance visibility. Choose sunglasses that comply with one of the three national standards outlined in this article and have 100% UV protection. Also, consider the size, style, and position of the sunglasses. Some may give a false sense of security but actually leave some parts of your eyes exposed, such as smaller lenses increase the chance of UV rays reaching your eyes from the sides of the lens.
If you want to read about harmful UV Rays, head to this article.
What UV Rays Do to Our Eyes Without Sunglasses
Without any protection, our eyes can be damaged by UV rays from the sun. Both UV-A and UV-B rays can do this. UV ray exposure has been associated with many eye conditions, such as photokeratitis and cortical cataracts. Photokeratitis is also known as snow blindness and arc eye. It is when exposure to UV rays damages the cornea, leading to discomfort and sometimes extreme pain. A cortical cataract is when a portion of the eye lens becomes opaque and may impair vision.
Our eyes are most exposed to the sun’s rays from 8 to 10 AM and 2 to 4 PM when the sun is parallel to our eyes.
Aside from UV Protection, What Else Can You Get From Sunglasses
Aside from blocking out harmful UV rays, sunglasses can also reduce the amount of glare. This reduces eye strain and improves visual comfort. This is extra helpful during a long drive.
Types of Sunglasses
There are many ways that sunglasses are categorized. The American National Standards Institute Vision Council separated sunglasses into four different types depending on their purpose and lens color:
- First type: Sunglasses for cosmetic
purposes. These are the ones with the shallowest tint depth. - Second type: Sunglasses for general purposes. These are ones with medium to dark lenses and moderate tint depth.
- Third type: Sunglasses for special purposes. These are ones with very dark lenses and deep tint depth.
- Fourth type: Sunglasses also for special purposes. These are ones with intensely colored lenses color and very depth tint depth.
It is important to note that heavily tinted lenses DO NOT always mean they can block UV rays. You must look carefully at the labels, which gets us to the next part of this article: how do we choose the right sunglasses?
Choosing the Right Sunglasses
With so many different types of sunglasses available on the market, it cannot be easy to choose the right pair. There are a few things that you should consider when shopping for sunglasses. This will be discussed in the following sections.
UV Blocking: Sunglasses Guidelines
There are three main guidelines on the standards of sunglasses, which are the American standard (ANSI), the European Standard (EN), and the Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS).
The American Standard was established by the American National Standards Institute Vision Council separated (ANSI.) This standard is also known as the ANSI Z80.3-2018. This requires sunglasses manufactured or sold in the US must perform UV and visible light transmittance lab tests.
The ANSI allows a different type of UV ray blockage depending on the kind of use for which the sunglasses were designed. Sunglasses for cosmetic and general uses (Category 1 and 2) have fewer UV ray blocking requirements, while sunglasses intended for special uses and prolonged uses have more UV ray blocking requirements.
The European Standard is known as EN 12312-1.2022. They categorize sunglasses lenses into five categories based on their tint depth. Each category has different UV ray blocking requirements, with 0 having the lowest blocking and 4 having the highest amount of blocking. Again, this does not
mean that darker tint is always better because they may not comply with the regulations. Sunglasses that meet the European Standard’s requirements will have a mark of ‘CE’ or ‘UV400’.
The Australian/New Zealand Standard is very similar to the European Standard in that they separate the sunglasses into five groups, with group 0 having limited or no UV protection and only being used for cosmetic purposes and group 5 having a high level of UV ray blockage ability. Still, these sunglasses are not to be used during driving due to their high tint level.
Other Important Considerations
Aside from the lens, it is also important to consider the lens size, style, and position of the sunglasses.
As mentioned before, a small lens cannot provide as much coverage as a big lens, and it can lure you into a sense of false security.
Similarly, the position of the sunglasses is also important because if the sunglasses are designed to sit further away from your face, there are more paths for the UV rays to penetrate your eyes without hitting the sunglasses first.
Polarized lenses are also something that you will want to consider. While polarized lenses do not help block UV rays, they significantly reduce glare. They do this by filtering out glare-causing horizontal light.
Best Sunglasses?
There are no single ‘best’ sunglasses. It all depends on what you are and the types of activities you will be doing.
The best sunglasses that protect you from stray UV rays path are wrap-around sunglasses because they protect your eyes from the sides and front.
The best sunglasses for blocking UV rays are those category 5 sunglasses (according to the Australian Guidelines), but you cannot wear them for driving because they are too dark.
So, in a nutshell, you need to consider the activities you will be doing and get the best sunglasses that will work for you. There is no point in buying them if you’re not going to wear them! One recommendation I can make is to find ones certified as ANSI, EN, or AS and those with 100% UV protection. Your eyes will thank you.
Conclusion
In conclusion, wearing sunglasses is essential to protecting our eyes from harmful UV rays. There are many things to consider when purchasing a pair of sunglasses. You want to look for a pair that offer 100% UV protection, complies with one of the three national standards, and is the appropriate shape and size for your activities. By taking these steps, we can ensure that our eyes are protected and enjoy the outdoors with one less thing to worry about.
Reference
Almutawa, F., & Buabbas, H. (2014). Photoprotection: clothing and glass. Dermatologic clinics, 32(3), 439–x. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.det.2014.03.016
